1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a low temperature shrinkable packaging cloth suitable for use in shrink packaging of articles to be packaged.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, heat-shrinkable films derived from, for example, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene having a branched long chain have been generally used in shrink packaging or wrapping. These heat-shrinkable films are, however, poor in mechanical strength such as tear strength, tensile strength, and hardwearing properties and have notch propagation properties. Therefore, there are ongoing problems during storage or transportation wherein the packaging films are broken at the corner or edge portions of articles that are packaged. For these reasons, the above-mentioned known heat-shrinkable films have not been substantially used in heavy duty packaging but are used in light duty packaging in which the packaging film is subjected to a relatively small mechanical stress.
Other problems of the above-mentioned heat shrinkable packaging films are that the shrinkable temperature is high and, therefore, the contents to be packaged are limited, and the direction of shrinkage is limited. For example, free selection of the direction and the amount of shrinkage such as (i) M-direction (i.e., "machine-direction") ultra-high shrinkage and T-direction (i.e., "transverse direction") low shrinkage, (ii) M-direction ultra-high shrinkage and T-direction ultra-high shrinkage, and (iii) M-direction low shrinkage and T-direction ultra-high shrinkage depending upon the shapes and conditions of articles to be packed cannot be attained. Further, it is impossible to expect that the shrinkage behavior in only a portion of the entire width in M-direction or T-direction is changed. Accordingly, the above-mentioned known heat shrinkable films can shrink-package articles having simple shapes, but cannot desirably shrink-package articles having complicated or not simple shapes.
Furthermore, the maximum width of the above-mentioned heat shrinkable films is limited to 1000 mm to 1500 mm under present film forming techniques. For this reason, the above-mentioned shrinkable films have not been used in heavy duty packaging.